It is now well understood by those skilled in the art that most fireplaces are really uneconomical in that they draw heated air from the home into the fireplace to help affect the combustion of the fire and then forcing a great deal of that already heated air out the chimney. There have been many and various attempts to provide glass fireplace doors, or the like, in order to prevent this discharge, and indeed there further have been many stoves and fireplace inserts developed to likewise combat this problem.
However, these prior art attempts have not provided for a good sealing relationship of the insert with respect to the face of the fireplace or the fireplace housing itself, and hence air still leaks from the house into the fire and up the chimney. Further, when the fireplace is not in use, there can be cold air leaking from around the fireplace insert down through the chimney and affecting adverse energy efficiency in the home.
It is further believed that these prior art fireplace insert approaches have not achieved sufficient insulation of the firebox in combination with air circulation therearound so as to obtain the most effective heat transfer from the firebox and for transmitting such heat back into the room. Further, these prior art attempts have not incorporated a good sealed relationship of the firebox itself by having an airtight door arrangement to prevent air leakage around the door.